I found myself laughing out loud in airports, on the front porch of our house, on the top deck of a river cruise – pretty much everywhere I had Brittany’s book in my hands. Her writing is honest throughout. Through her descriptive writing, Brittany has a gift of bringing you inside her mind. Her wording is so detailed that you feel like you are back-in-time with her.

Inside of all that humor, Brittany shares poignant lessons exposing elements of our society that too often people shy away from discussing. As the subtitle of her book says, she addresses sex, food, love, and body image (plus parenting, marriage, and much more) – from childhood to adulthood. Brittany’s skillful words have a magical way of connecting to you, the reader and your life. I found myself thinking, “I’ve thought that before.”

In the speaking industry, a concept that is often stressed is “authenticity.” Brittany’s writing is an ideal example of being authentic. Without having an intense social media strategy, she drew hundreds of thousands of readers to her blog. Why? Because people were looking for an authentic voice and she provided it (and continues to today).

Last week, George Takei (activist and actor from “Star Trek”) spoke at the National Speakers Convention in Washington, D.C..

Photo provided by Craig Price, http://therealistsguide.com.

George has 8.8 million FaceBook followers and 1.7 million followers on Twitter. Did he share how we speakers could grow such massive followings to help impact more people? Did he talk about how the original Star Trek series was cutting-edge for addressing cultural and political norms?

Did he tailor his speech to speakers with the intention to help them grow their businesses – from the lessons he has learned through decades of being in the entertainment industry and as an activist?

Surprising for some, the answer was, “No.”

What did he speak about? Humanity.

George shared the personal story of his family (U.S. Citizens) being interned by the U.S. government when he was only 5 years old.

To provide a little background, 14 days prior to the National Speakers Association convention, I was at Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site for the 2nd time. Throughout being at Dachau this time around, our guide talked about being mindful of what is happening right now in the world along the same lines. Our guide believed strongly that you have to know history, speak of it openly – including its wrongs – to transform the future. He shared how every child in Germany tours the memorials of concentration camps at some point in their education. Their country puts their horrors front and center.

Our country does not. We hear people yelling, “Why should we be discussing the wrongs of ‘some people’ in our country’s past? I didn’t do that and so its not my problem.”

Am I comparing any particular actions of our country to the holocaust? No, I’m discussing the LESSONS learned from wrongful pasts.

How does this relate? George Takei provided a history of our country MANY people in the audience never knew about. While we knew about internment camps, many had no clue of what that truly meant – “to be interned.” The shame is that many of us never had any concept of how horrible those actions were until we were sitting in that audience with George sharing his personal story.

When the film “12 Years a Slave” was released, some people thought it was too violent. Yet, the movie was only showing a small piece of the horror slaves experienced in our country. People seem to forget that one time our Supreme Court RULED slaves were not to be treated equally.

Where are the memorials? Where do our children walk the grounds of old plantations seeing the horror of what our country allowed to prevail – to avoid ever repeating any such history again?

Photo provided by Craig Price, http://therealistsguide.com.

Where is the experience where children hear GEORGE’s STORY as they learn the history of our country? Almost no where. They simply hear “internment” with no real understanding of what was taking place.

As George finished sharing with us, he stressed how far we have come as a society. He left us understanding our past and how we have an opportunity for continuing to improve our future.

George Takei provided more than a keynote on how to grow our organizations. He provided us, as speakers and individuals, an opportunity to be reminded what every human being should continue to be passionate about – acting with humanity for all.

Last week, I flew to Germany to embark on Viking’s “Danube Waltz” River Cruise from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary (visiting Austrian cities Linz, Salzburg, Melk, Durnstein, and Vienna PLUS Bratislava, Slovakia). Experiencing a European river cruise had been on our Mom’s bucket list for quite some time and so getting the opportunity to do this with her, Rita (my sister), and Karen was AWESOME!!

Our table “family” along with our head waiter, Jahz.

Camaraderie
With only 189 guests aboard the ship, the atmosphere is much more intimate than traditional cruises. For meals, you can sit at any table. While we randomly chose to sit at our table the first night, the 2 other couples who chose the same table ended up joining us at that same table all week. By the second day, we had invited another couple to join us and fill the table. As the week and meals went by, the 10 of us became our only little family.

Our waiter said our group of 10 was louder than the biggest group on the ship (which was 31 people). Yep, we took some pride in that.

Vivian and I dancing together. I think this was right after I spun her around. The look on her face says it all.

The PEOPLE
One moment, you’d meet someone while you were hanging out on the top deck as the boat sailed through the beautiful scenery surrounding the Danube. Later you’d meet someone while singing along and dancing with the wonderful pianist/singer, Peter. Often you’d meet people during your daily tours provided by the ship in each location. The picture here is the spunky and fun Vivian.

FAMILY
Speaking of the people, getting time with your Mom, your sister, and your awesome partner ROCKS!! Time with my Mom is time I am ALWAYS grateful for. She is fun, brilliant, energetic, and must keep moving. One of my favorite times during this trip was my Mom and I going for a morning walk along the Danube in Budapest. Having that time to spend one-on-one was great. Of course dancing with my Mom is always special and we got to dance at least once on most evenings. My Mom is an inspiration.

Rita and I leading the room to the “YMCA.”

While my sister, Rita, and I work closely together with The DATE SAFE Project, getting 10 days away from work to be together is something I will always be grateful for. Rita knows how to let loose and have FUN, especially in the evenings on the dance floor. While I wasn’t on the dance floor as much as she was, I enjoyed watching her have a blast! By the end of the week, everyone knew who Rita was. Her energy was contagious. Best part? She is my sister!

Speaking of having fun watching someone else, do you have someone in your life who you love to watch being happy? Your kids, your family, your friends, your partner? Maybe it is a “Yes” to all those people – as it is for me.

Yes, I asked first. This location is one of the scenes from “The Sound of Music.”

ROMANCE
Watching Karen have fun every single day of this trip was wonderful. The smiles on her face were never ending. Seeing her completely relaxed while reading and taking in the beautiful sights along the Danube as we sat next to each other on the top deck was precious. Having time where we were just being goofy together was soooo much fun.

Sitting next to each other on bus rides and gazing into each other’s eyes …..okay maybe that sounds a bit gushy. Either way, it felt great! Knowing we still have that spark and passion for each other makes each day even more fulfilling. Getting to travel with Karen is a definite bonus.

When I’m gone for work, I love having pictures of Karen to look at. This trip provided me sooo many moments to reflect on via photographs.

THE CREWWow! I can’t say enough about the phenomenal crew aboard Viking’s “Prestige” vessel. Anthony, the Program Manager, was funny, engaging, and completely present for every guest. Sometimes he’d be on your bus for the tours and you could hang out and learn about each other. In Bratislava, 4 of us went for a 5 mile run together: Anthony, Marie (another guest), Rita, and me.

Andras, the Executive Chef, would swing by your table to see how everything was going. Nenad (who studied Culinary in Budapest) made the best omelettes – exactly how you wanted them. The food was SCRUMPTIOUS!!

The Wachau Valley Wine Region is gorgeous for biking.

Thanks to the Concierge, Ivana, Karen and I got to bike from Melk, Austria to Durnstain, Austria – instead of being aboard the ship as it cruised that section of the Danube. Ivana did a fantastic job of putting this together for us, especially on only 1.5 days notice. Karen and I getting 2.5 hours of biking along the river, through tons of small towns, and vineyards covering 22 miles was magnificent.

Nicole, the room attendant, felt like a friend by the end of the week. She works hard and cares deeply about her Mom who she helps take care of.

Jahz and Renee, our waiters, were fantastic – providing awesome service, lots of humor, and whatever someone wanted. Dragan was a delightful bartender who always had a smile on his face. As you can tell, I could go on and on. The setting is so intimate that everyone felt close to the Captain of the boat. You saw him every day and probably shook his hand each day.

Budapest at night.

THE SIGHTS & TOURS
When you are visiting places you’ve never been, its easy to just walk around in awe. Having a guided tour included in each location completely changes that experience. While still in awe, you get an understanding and great appreciation for what you are seeing (and the history behind it). From palaces to cathedrals to visiting the Vienna Residence Orchestra, the places the ship took us were continually amazing.

Choosing a single image for this part of the blog was difficult. One image did stick out. As we rode into Budapest, the lights of the city left everyone speechless.

FREEDOM of WALKING, RUNNING, & BIKING
Because we were one of the youngest people aboard the “Prestige,” you could mistakenly assume this cruise was not as active as the large cruise ships are. Just the opposite.

Sunrise over Budapest.

River cruises enable you to come and go aboard the ship MUCH easier than large cruise ships. I ran in the morning 6 of the first 7 days (sometimes with Rita, Karen, or by myself). Plus, Karen and I biked twice (Rita joined us for one of those bike rides). The final morning, my Mom, Karen, and I got up at 4am to walk up the mountain where Hungary’s “Statue of Liberty” stands – to watch the morning sunrise over the city. The time together and the view was spectacular!!

Plus, the tours and exploring we did resulted in us walking around 70 miles over the 9 days. For those who didn’t want as much walking, they had the option to take more moderate walking/bus tours. You can be as active as you want on a River Cruise.

Outside St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

THE INVESTMENT
Yes, river cruises can cost more money upfront than typical cruising. We saved up for this trip, including saving lots of airplane miles to cover the roundtrip flights. Financially, river cruising has some benefits. Each location includes a tour (unless you choose additional ones you want to pay for) and all drinks are included at every meal. Those savings on excursions and beverages alone can equal a lot of money from a typical cruise. Plus, we were never being “sold to” on this cruise.

For us, the investment was worth every penny and moment in time. Memories like this cannot be replaced.

UNFORGETTABLE
In the end, UNFORGETTABLE is the word that best describes this trip with my Mom, Rita, and Karen.

If you are interested in checking out river cruising, we loved sailing with Viking Cruises at http://www.vikingrivercruises.com, In the Comments section below, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Unforgettable and often because of the amazing family I was traveling with: my Mom, Rita, and Karen.